Water Quality Data for 2008

The data below were collected at three sites sites on the Woonasquatucket River under the URI Watershed Watch Program:

1. Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence
2. Donigian Park, Providence
3. Waterplace Park, Providence

For more details about our monitoring program, the parameters we monitor, and links to more data, see the overview page for our water quality monitoring program. Data for other years are also available from this page as well as from the sidebar at right.

The water quality of many of the lakes and ponds in the watershed is also being monitored under the URI Watershed Watch program. The data for these sites are available on the Watershed Watch web site.

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Bacteria: Samples for bacteria testing are collected once a month during the monitoring season and taken to the URI Watershed Watch lab for analysis. These results are generally available within about a week of the monitoring date.

In 2006 Watershed Watch began testing for the bacteria group enterococci, instead of fecal coliforms. This change was made because the US EPA identified enterococci as a better indicator of the risk of contacting gastrointestinal disorders as a result of coming into contact with the water than fecal coliforms. As a result of this finding, RI DEM and RI Department of Health are also switching to using enterococci as their standard for recreational contact (swimming). Prior to the to 2006 the bacteria groups tested for where e. coli or fecal coliforms.

The Rhode Island standard for freshwater used for recreation is 61 enterococci (count per 100 ml). For more information visit the URI Watershed Watch web site and, in particular, read this PDF document on bacterial monitoring

Enterococci (count per 100 ml):

Site	May	June	July	August	September	October
Greystone Pond	17	104.8	60.9	2239.8	436	13.4
Donigian Park	12.6	107.6	152.9	476.4	94.2	8.2
Waterplace Park	24.2	114	1011.2	1461.6	>5376.9	132

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Dissolved oxygen is important to the health of animals that live in the river because they need air to breath too. If the dissolved oxygen drops below 3 mg/L aquatic animals cannot survive. Between 3 and 5 mg/L it is hard for organisms to function, and above 5 is good. Oxygen levels are generally higher in the spring when the water is cold, because cold water can hold more oxygen. For more information visit the URI Watershed Watch web site and, in particular, read this PDF document on dissolved oxygen.

To run the test, two samples are collected and two tests are run on each sample. The four results are averaged to get the final value. The test used is the modified Winkler titration test. The dates listed below are the Saturday of the weekend on which the data were supposed to be collected. In some cases the samples were collected a few days before or after the date listed. See the detailed results below for the exact dates on which samples were collected.

Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L):

Site	4/26	5/10	5/24	6/7	6/21	7/5	7/12	7/26	8/9	8/16	8/23	9/6	9/20	10/4	10/18	10/25
Greystone Pond	9.0	9.1	7.3	6.2	5.1	4.7	6.0	4.9	5.4	-	7.0	6.0	6.9	7.0	7.4	-
Donigian Park	9.4	9.0	8.9	8.5	6.9	6.8	6.5	7.6	7.4	7.8	7.5	7.1	8.3	9.7	9.1	10.6
Waterplace Park	9.3	8.2	8.5	7.8	5.9	5.4	5.4	6.7	6.1	6.6	6.9	-	4.8	7.4	6.5	7.5

Dissolved Oxygen (% Saturation):

Site	4/26	5/10	5/24	6/7	6/21	7/5	7/12	7/26	8/9	8/16	8/23	9/6	9/20	10/4	10/18	10/25
Greystone Pond	83	94	69	65	57	56	70	57	62	-	79	70	71	71	66	-
Donigian Park	90	90	88	87	79	79	76	87	83	89	87	83	84	90	86	89
Waterplace Park	90	82	84	81	67	61	63	77	69	76	80	-	50	70	62	68

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Nutrients: Data on nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are determined from samples delivered to URI along with the bacteria samples. However, the nutrient samples are not processed by Watershed Watch until after the end of the monitoring season. The data are typically posted on the URI Watershed Watch website sometime during the winter.

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Collection Notes:

Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: heavy overcast, light wind	Water Temperature: 12.0 C (53.6 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 3mm (0.12")	Dissolved Oxygen: 9.0 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: heavy overcast, light wind	Water Temperature: 13.3 C (55.9 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 9.4 mg/L
Air Temperature: 7.6 C (45.7 F)

Notes: It's a new monitoring season and we are starting off with a suitably cold and raw April day. Some much needed rain is on the way. It started raining at 7:07AM when I was still at the site analyzing the samples. Shortly after I got to the site a great blue heron flew down the river and almost landed in the tree above me before turning and flying to a tree 200 feet up the river. Most of the trees have very small leaves on them, so we are at the beautiful transition point when you can still see the structure of the trees, as in the winter, but they are starting to turn green. The big change at the site this year is that the fish ladder around the dam is done. Fish have even been seen using it this spring!

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: heavy overcast, light wind	Water Temperature: 14.1 C (57.4 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 8mm (0.32")	Dissolved Oxygen: 9.3 mg/L
Tide: ebb	Salinity: 0.8 ppt

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 17.1 C (62.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 2mm (0.08")	Dissolved Oxygen: 9.1 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: heavy overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 15.6 C (60.1 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 1mm (0.04")	Dissolved Oxygen: 9.0 mg/L
Air Temperature: 11.6 C (52.9 F)

Notes: What a difference a couple of weeks makes at this time of year. Many of the trees are almost fully leafed out. Others are still in the early stages. As a result of the rain in recent weeks the river is flowing well and more rain is on the way. In the last hour the sky has gone from clouds with a visible texture to a solid, smooth ceiling of gray. At 7:30 the rain began to fall.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: heavy overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 15.5 C (59.9 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 1mm (0.04")	Dissolved Oxygen: 8.2 mg/L
Air Temperature: 11.3 C (52.3 F)
Tide: ebb

Notes: A cool, gray morning in downtown Providence. It is close to low tide and there is a light oil slick on the water. The bottom is visible, less than a foot underwater, 12 feet or so upstream from the steps where we collect the samples, but the steps vanish into deeper water.

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: clear, moderate wind	Water Temperature: 12.9 C (55.2 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.3 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, gentle wind	Water Temperature: 14.9 C (58.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 8.9 mg/L
Air Temperature: 17.0 C (62.6 F)

Notes: The sun is sparkling off the water, the birds are singing and the sky is a deep blue above the green leaves overhead. The breeze is strong enough to reach down to the river at times and ruffle the surface of the water. When I was wading into the river I saw a school of tiny fish.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: clear, gentle wind	Water Temperature: 14.9 C (58.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 8.5 mg/L
Tide: ebb

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: heavy overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 17.5 C (63.5 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 7mm (0.28")	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.2 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: heavy overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 16.5 C (61.7 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 7mm (0.28")	Dissolved Oxygen: 8.5 mg/L
Air Temperature: 14.7 C (58.5 F)

Notes: It's a cool, gray morning and it's hard to believe that it is supposed to get very warm later today. At Donigian Park there were two pairs of Canada Geese each with nine goslings trailing behind them. The river is flowing smoothly and looks relatively clean and clear despite the recent rains. There are lots of small insects flying around just above the water, possibly mayflies.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: light overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 17.0 C (62.6 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 7mm (0.28")	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.8 mg/L
Tide: flood	Salinity: 0.8 ppt

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: light overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 20.9 C (69.6 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 2mm (0.08")	Dissolved Oxygen: 5.1 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: light overcast, light wind	Water Temperature: 21.9 C (71.4 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 1mm (0.04")	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.9 mg/L
Air Temperature: 20.9 C (69.6 F)

Notes: Summer is here. The mulberry tree is once again dropping mulberries into the river. I saw a muskrat swimming across the river. Looking upstream the river appears to be flowing between towering walls of green foliage. The sun is glowing palely through the clouds at times, revealing shapes and patterns in the what is otherwise a uniform ceiling of gray overhead.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: light overcast, light wind	Water Temperature: 21.7 C (71.1 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 1mm (0.04")	Dissolved Oxygen: 5.9 mg/L
Tide: flood	Salinity: 1.0 ppt

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 24.1 C (75.4 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 4.7 mg/L
Air Temperature: 23.8 C (74.8 F)

Notes: Lots of bird life at the pond this morning. An eastern kingbird landed near me when I was getting ready to collect the samples.

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: heavy overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 22.7 C (72.9 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 2mm (0.08")	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.8 mg/L
Air Temperature: 21.6 C (70.9 F)

Notes: A quiet, gray morning on the river. The sky is cloudy and there is not a breath of wind moving. I thought I saw a small fish jump out of the water a ways above the dam. As I was analyzing the samples the sun started to show through the clouds occasionally. The young Canada Geese are getting bigger. You have to look closely to tell which are the adults and which are the juveniles. There sure are a lot of them.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: light overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 21.7 C (71.1 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 4mm (0.16")	Dissolved Oxygen: 5.4 mg/L
Tide: flood	Salinity: 1.7 ppt

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: light overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 23.0 C (73.4 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.0 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 23.0 C (73.4 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.5 mg/L
Air Temperature: 22.2 C (72 F)

Notes: A beautiful summer morning: blue sky, bright sun, birds singing (but in a somewhat more subdued way relative to back in the spring). The river is looking a little low but the water is clean looking (except for some occassional trails of oil that float by).

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 23.0 C (73.4 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 5.4 mg/L
Tide: ebb	Salinity: 2.2 ppt

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: light overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 23.3 C (73.9 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 32mm (1.26")	Dissolved Oxygen: 4.9 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 22.1 C (71.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 22mm (0.87")	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.6 mg/L
Air Temperature: 19.4 C (66.9 F)

Notes: The river is high and turbid (carry lots of suspended sediment and other matter) as a result of the recent heavy rain but it is sunny this morning and unsually cool for the middle of summer, although I'm sure it will feel hot later in the day.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 22.1 C (71.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 22mm (0.87")	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.7 mg/L
Air Temperature: 19.0 C (66.2 F)
Tide: ebb

Notes: There is what appears to be an old refrigerator floating in the basin at Waterplace Park; maybe it was swept down here by the recent high water as a result of the heavy rain.

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: heavy overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 21.8 C (71.2 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 10mm (0.39")	Dissolved Oxygen: 5.4 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 20.9 C (69.6 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 4mm (0.16")	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.4 mg/L

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 21.1 C (70 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 4mm (0.16")	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.1 mg/L
Tide: flood	Salinity: 1.6 ppt

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Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 22.1 C (71.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.8 mg/L

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 22.2 C (72 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.6 mg/L
Tide: flood	Salinity: 2.0 ppt

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 21.3 C (70.3 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.0 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 22.6 C (72.7 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.5 mg/L

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Caroline Brown

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 22.6 C (72.7 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.9 mg/L
Tide: flood	Salinity: 1.8 ppt

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: clear, gentle wind	Water Temperature: 23.1 C (73.6 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 64mm (2.52")	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.0 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: heavy overcast, calm wind	Water Temperature: 23.4 C (74.1 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 64mm (2.52")	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.1 mg/L
Air Temperature: 22.9 C (73.2 F)

Notes: In the last 4 hours 64mm (2.52 inches) of rain has fallen; the leading wave of rain from tropical storm Hanna. The slow, lazy summer river is gone and in its place is a churning mass of brown water rushing towards the sea. The water presses against my body as I collect the samples. Valley Street is around 9" deep in water when I arrive at the park and before I collect my samples I help push out three cars that have gotten in too deep and stalled. Fortunately, since the rain has stopped for the moment, the water on the street slowly drains away.

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 16.7 C (62.1 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.9 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 16.2 C (61.2 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 8.3 mg/L
Air Temperature: 10.8 C (51.4 F)

Notes: The river is once again clear and back to a more normal level for this time of year. Fall is definitely here...the air is downright chilly despite the brilliant blue sky and bright sunshine. The Fall Equinox is two days away.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, light wind	Water Temperature: 17.1 C (62.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 4.8 mg/L
Air Temperature: 9.3 C (48.7 F)	Salinity: 12.6 ppt
Tide: flood

Notes: It appears I dipped too deeply collecting my samples and got the incoming tide running underneath the fresh water flowing out of the river. Thus the much higher salinity.

I saw a school of fish circling around. Some of the fish were acting like there was not enough oxygen in the water.

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 16.3 C (61.3 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 1mm (0.04")	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.0 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 12.1 C (53.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 1mm (0.04")	Dissolved Oxygen: 9.7 mg/L
Air Temperature: 7.1 C (44.8 F)

Notes: The sun is brilliant this morning but it is not yet warming up the air that much...or the river water! The leaves overhead are mostly still green but that will not last much longer with temperatures like these. My wet hands are cold and clumsy this morning as I run the tests.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 13.0 C (55.4 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: 1mm (0.04")	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.4 mg/L
Air Temperature: 5.4 C (41.7 F)	Salinity: 4.0 ppt
Tide: ebb

Notes: A beautiful Fall morning. The sun is just coming up and casting a golden light on the east faces of the buildings of downtown Providence.

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Greystone Pond, Johnston - N. Providence

Data Collected by: Douglas Stephens

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 10.2 C (50.4 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.4 mg/L

Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: light overcast, light wind	Water Temperature: 12.8 C (55 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 9.1 mg/L
Air Temperature: 6.3 C (43.3 F)

Notes: It is the middle of October, but this morning it feels like November. There is a low layer of gray clouds that the sun is shinely through only weakly, as a pale disk that does not feel like it is giving off any heat. The air temperatures are only in the low 40's (F) and with the beeze that is blowing it feels even colder. Still, the leaves on many of the trees overhead are still greeen. Most of the maples, the catalpas, and the mulberry are still quite green. The mighty sycamore with its giant leaves is starting to change to yellow. The red maples are scarlet if they still have leaves at all. A few trees are bright yellow: a hawthorne of some sort (I think), and another small tree that I can't identify.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: light overcast, gentle wind	Water Temperature: 12.9 C (55.2 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: none	Dissolved Oxygen: 6.5 mg/L
Air Temperature: 6.0 C (42.8 F)	Salinity: 3.0 ppt
Tide: flood

Notes: The surface of the water appeared to be moving downstream faster than the water just a few inches down. What may have been going on was the fresh water from the river was flowing out on top of salt water from the bay. I collected the samples about 25cm (10 inches) below the surface, where there may have been some mixing going on between the fresh and salt water. It was still mostly fresh water, since the salinity of normal sea water is around 35ppt and the water I collected had a salinity of 3.0ppt, but if I had tested the water right at the surface it might have had an even lower salinity.

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Donigian Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 7.8 C (46 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: trace	Dissolved Oxygen: 10.6 mg/L
Air Temperature: -1.2 C (29.8 F)

Notes: The grass is white with the first hard frost of the season. The river water is cold; not nearly as cold as the air on strictly numeric basis, but it certainly feels a lot colder! The sky is clear and the warmth of the sun will be most welcome once the sun rays reach down to me on the river bank. I saw a falling leaf come down in a perfect decending spiral all the way to the ground; not tumbling like most leaves but instead coming down in a slow, steady spiral, stem first.

Waterplace Park, Providence

Data Collected by: Bruce Hooke

Weather: clear, calm wind	Water Temperature: 11.0 C (51.8 F)
Rainfall in the past 48 hours*: trace	Dissolved Oxygen: 7.5 mg/L
Air Temperature: 0.5 C (32.9 F)	Salinity: 12.4 ppt
Tide: ebb

Notes: The sky is growing lighter over downtown. The tide is flowing out swiftly but the water level is still high on the steps, covering the second step down from the top with a few inches of water.

Another season of water quality monitoring has come to an end. Many thanks to our volunteer monitors!

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* Note: Rainfall amounts are recorded at a rain gauge in western Providence or at other rain gauges in the area. These rainfall amounts should be view as approximations.